Teaching Unprepared Students: Strategies for Promoting Success and Retention in Higher Education

EACHING UN

REPARED STUDENTS

Strategies for Promoting Success and Retention in Higher Education

J(athleen F Gabriel Foreword by Sandra M. Flake

STERLING, VIRGINIA

To

Isaac, and 11lcas. CI1L·oUt·iI.~eI1lCi'lt. I!Jldl'nt,!J)(/'mg

COPYRIGl1 i

©

First Edirion,

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2008 BY STYLFS PCBlfSH£:.IG,

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and love,

CONTENTS

ix FOREWORD

1.

UNrRU'ARED AND ATRISK COLLEGE STUDENTS

2.

PHILOSOPlllCi\I FOl'NDATIONS

3.

THE FIRST WEEK OF CLASS

C()nclu~ioll

!\S,',C,',Sl1l,--fll

InuoJucc

25

and Grades

EJucation Sup pOl t Centers, and Tips for Success ofBeiu\JOl Use ,wJ follo\\-Up

4.

LCdIEU-CUltctcJ

BEGIN WITH CONSIS! EN! COG:Ti\CT

4I

Cbs.::. ,\UcllJ,mcc for At-Risk Students

5·

LEl\RNIl'G STYLES AND TIlE SCIENCE OF EEARNINl;

uil

57

viu

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 6.

7.

EMBRACING LEARNER·~ENTFRED EDUCATION

I !NTERWE:WI'c of us eng:!.g.cJ in

pnwiJes

wOlking \vith a full speLlI HHI

of stude!lts, flom the unplcparcd and often unengaged to the \VeIl-prepared and dedicated cessful tiLl!

Gabtiel recogniZes there

multiple paths to suc-

~'nd facuity !llCIUbcrs can guide ;:,tudents to finding the path-

help them to be

Let me close with a final recollection, Robin decided to get an educ:ltioll to

a factory worker who

stand",d of living, He came into

my o[(,ce one day near the end of his first semester in college and proudly halldLel

a book~-~the first he had eVel read wid,om it being required of

him, He had COIlle to the

to

his standard of living and

would do so, Lmhe had also implOved

ulldelswnding of what it meant

to be

He \\ould

HOW

read books on his own, for both learning

and t:njO}m~1JL Kathleen Gabriel u!ldt~rstanJs that successful stude1lts develop the ability to learn enough to get that credential-the degtee-and

Sandra M, Flakc Provosr and Vice President

ttLhlc!1b up for failure and, at the

rulfiIkJ a

will proli,l" unptepared

and principles about teaching.

After a teaching philosophy is established, ir can be used as the guitling chaplet, I describe the

As cJucuors, \ve have an obligalion to all of out stw..lents, including those who ullF,cF hanging in my office that reads: "lfthele is no struggle, there is no progless."

18

fE)\CHING

STUDFNTS

PHILOSOPHICA.1. FOUNDAT10NS

Learning how to work thwuglt problems and not give up when things are :lOt

goill~ SlllL,olhiy is vital

Your class--wdL

to'success in all aspects of life. There are no

but then

all my classes were hard. I

rCdll) ,

TO

flunking everydting.

the COJl'-cy.llcn..:es wue hid out . lIlJ

;It

tll'- _'amc rime;} plan

li~LL glinllnu of hope.

quick fixes, and anguish may be ;nvollnl. Some at-risk students may nor

of action was set up

want to go tlmiugh the otwgglc .md exenio:l

At £11,',(, I JiJn't think 1 diukl do it. But thell, after going to tutoring and coming to see you everr lhing: d'2r wmp!clllclll dIcit

(see

f[ACIII?'-.'C L" ,'Kc,'AKL,U

Illost of the selllcster. 'W'idl every absdlcc or l11i~~ing assigJlI11Cllf,

chapter 5 for furtbet Ji;;.:us.siun). Hov,'ever, there is usually an intervening

sorority

period of time before at-ri,k

she would gt\'C her obligus and are .rho clic.urs.,cJ during the first \leek (see c!tapte",

[Lil t.het discUS0iu a). a [ew

and 6 fot

Iv1axwdl's (2007) book Trdent Is iVeuo Enough. He rcntinds his readers to teachable" (p.

I-,b.xwcll adds ach icc from J, Konrad Hole, who

wrote: If you ..:annot "t>c

ha\"ing talent \\'on'[ help you

If you cannot be flexible, having a goal won't help you.

If you If you

GUUlOt

If YOLl

(",llltlot

be glJ.lLful, hJ\ing abllnJ,U1ce \von't help you. be tnclltoublc, ha\ ins a future \von't help YOll. lx.- JUf..1hk, having a plan 'Non't help you. If you C.Ulllut he rCJ.duHc. hJyillg \V(:Hl't help YOLl (,,-,hulogical auJ

on learning objeniv'cs IOl outcomes]" (Weimer.

;"1ca~,ulcfllCllt:

You ::;hvuld bc able to Cvill be conducted in a formal or infolHlJ.l lnannCl. COtllll1Ul1lL,surs can take in :lJditio!l to informing sluderll~

about support centers on campus. J[[,:lnh.SLU.uerll, may already have most of these behaviors as part of their tudy h:lbits or stuJy loutlnes, but

IllUSt

at-·risk students do not and cannot

ven come up with such a list. '.L,)'ing this invelllury will give them peeifie audcmic ,bo do

Ilot

list of

they can choose from. For the at-risk students

knO\\ bow to perForm some of the tasks listed, I invite them to

Expectations of Behaviot Somewhere on the ,\ylbLus, we can reach out to at-risk studellts by telling that

anyone with a disability (leaming or otherwise) to bring

his ur hel letter of identification froln the univelsity's disdbleJ \tUdc:nl

vices office. At the same rime, professors strongly encourto attend j" gI:1JCJ,

it is llwst likely that S0111C stuJcnts

Jill have performed poorh-. McBrayer (2001) suggests a strategy to help

college pteparation

01

can ask studellts who are rlflSllte of their

readiness for c.ollege to come to our office to discuss

swdr for being successful in class. \'{'c "Iso need to make it clear that in no way does [his mean that any standards or expectdtions will be lowered, but that

afe lalking about sharing swltegic, with studcIllS for

38

u

THE FIRST \X'EEK OF CLASS

STUDENTS

l'l"Kl"'AKt,U

being successful in class, On the first day, I also tell them that I expect ro ~ltcnd eve Iy class (sec chapter 4 for further discussion), For this part of the sylhbus, a statement about academic integtity is

exam"; "Ann

39

you ro explain the purpose of the research particip~tion

points" (p. 287), Raymark and Connor· Green f"uned the questions in this to gel the students to consider not just what the course policies are

but

usually included along with any test-taking procedures, due dates, makeup policies, and so UIL Chapter 8 is deYOted to this subjed and includes several

also the reasons fOl course policies. They also suggest that the syllabus quiz

suggcstiollS syllabus and! 01 the prufe"sor's policies.

I hose used the syllabus with much success. First, I have srudellls take the quiz alone. Next, I have them separate into small groups (no more

depending on the college, department.

be required and not offeted as an extta-credit option.

regarding classroom decorum, etiquette, and

than three people to a gJOup) to compare answers. Finally, we have a total

ground rules are also included on a thorough syllabus (see chapter 4 for fUIther ,[;ocmsiud). It is import~nt to create a climate where students are

dass discussion on any remaining questions students lilay have about their

rcspectful to each other and to you.

low scote on theit individual test, because they learn the information in a

In "ddition,

we have for OUI students, and whether an indion a syllabus before the first

answers, This approach is beneficial for at-risk students even if they have a small-group setting. If we want students to read and

the syllabus, then as profe"or5 we

likes to have his or her students participate

lllust tum to our syllabus often and "encourage students to develop the habit

in dCkrlnining thOSL expectations, they do need to be written duwn on the

of using it as a common reference duonghout the course" (Grunert, t997·

syllabm. "A lhoi'Jugh sylhbus ledil~es the number of student questions and

p. 20). ""'hen introducing new units of study

challenges to course policies during the term" (Wankat, 2002, p. 48).

tefer students to your syllabus. After the initial introduction, if we use the

0t

new assignmellb always

syllabus and refel to it througllOut the semester. it will be the useful communication tool you intended it to be.

Syllabus Use and Follow-Up The leamer-cent,cred syllabus can be used as a guide tor student success. aud Hanis Cwo~) tecull1111end using YOut syllabus as a leaming tool. All students bentot from a detailed syllabus that will "tell [them] where they will elld up

the semeSter is over and how they will get there" (Wan kat,

p. 48). I-Io\\,cver. and use it, 2002,

,\fallY profeswis who go

day of class

stuJents alsv need guidance on hov,r to read

Conclusion As professors we can use OUI syllabi as the first Ene of communic,uion with our studellts. Also we

(and should)

our ullhusiaslll fot teaching

in our syllabi, the goals dnd intended leaming outcomes that we have for the slltdents taking the cl:lSs, as "ell as the teaching mission. Once the syllabus

the cla" s)lhbus in great detail on the first

will ,till have students who" ill miss important management

is ready for the first dav, it can be used to bell' create a posilive classroom

lu[ornullun or other course logistics. To avoid this inevitable situation.

dtmos p hcre. The s)'lhbus will be the contract between

Rayrllark and Connor-Green (2002) reco1ll11lcncl giving a quiz on the sylla-

therefore, throughuut the semester, it will ptmide direction and focus for

bus that is

our course. for

in such a way that students assume the role of the

all

and uur students:

of the course should be spelled out so

RaymaJlz and ConJlor-Green asked qucstiOll~ like "Rebecca a~ks whether it is possible to meet with you outside of

the students

on board with the mission of the class, ground rules, expec-

reguLul} scheduled ufoce hours"; "Veronica has an A avetage going into the

bus can help guide the way for at-risk students as [hey learn hO\v to be

final exam. Now she wants to know why she can't he exempt from the final

J.cadcmidly successful,

tations [ur chssroolll

and so on. Having a clear. well-written sylla-

4 BEGIN WITH CONSISTENT CONTACT Attendance That Matters

Every noble work is at first imrossihlA -Thomas Carly!e

W

hile there may be many factors that influence srude'ntnt. Faculty concern helps students get rhrnugh rough times and keep on w0rking. Knowing ;1 few faculty me-rnh('[s well enh;m('(''' students' intellectual ,nmrnirm('nr and encourages them to think about their own values and future plans. (p. 3)

The initial requirement of having to come to a professor's office for an introductory chat will help ease the \'lay in the future for those "Aut they see-pictures, r-li:lgnm
Actiw learners learn by trying things our and working wtth others [but]

If I sat near a "\vir. For example, some students respond to those who say that being hungry or cold in class keeps them from being able to pay attention with comments such as, "Have a snack before class," "Bring a granola bar to class)" "Bring a s"'Vveater to class." This may seem like an oversimpliFied 3prro::tch, but as we move to the more serious com'11ents, I use this disclls"jon as a basis to set ground rules for the dass. Once we get a consensus about creating a class climate that will be

which led him to mark the wrong answer. His test-taking strategics and study strategies cornpJcmcnte'd his learning style preferences but did not prepare him for the actual test situation. We dlsctlssf'n addirional ways that he should study and constructed sample tests for him to practice on. Many of the test questions we made up included the types that he had missed, such as ones with double negatives: "All of the fol1 rn,ving except what are not part of the _ _ rheory?" In tutoring sC's"ion -1:fTf',,'r,r 'Yf"'" ofhr+;n·iM. n)nr~n

pn) of my r.1.Vonte fY'Nf'

CAr5 in lheir of CAT,)

EMBRACI:..JG LEAR;';f,R-CENTERED EDUCATION

TEACHfNG UNPREP/lRE0 STl.'DENTS

working, ')nlf1ying and socializing, they caD learn something different,

working \vith everyone in the class. Third, the plan ned structure of having

sOlUe-thing more. (p. [52)

different student groups ensures inreraction and cnllYcrp:1 f ed 5tUOCnfS.

yv

1 LALHJf'.iG

U~'PREPARFD

Hqba and Freed

(2000)

INTERWEA\' fr'G ASSESSMENT ANn TEACHIl'G

STCDENTS

believe that all assessments arc "best when used

to imprcve "uhscqllCDr learning" (p. 8). \X1hen uggcsrs rh:1t professors ask sturltnts for real-life c"X:1mplcs, sllm~ marize key concepts from the lecture, "list cost and. benefits or pros a~ . " (p I) Also if the class 15 large and the nOIse cons, or dIagram a process '. . . ' . " a whistle or bell so they can level rises, professots should ronwlcr bnngtn o signal the. class WIlen th· e ome ·s I up . Another techniqne that can be used to

1

Ct\\.,1"11NG

UNPREPARED STUDENTS INTERWEAVING ASSESSMENT Al\'D TEACHING

95

get the students' attention is to tell them that when the time is UPI the professor will raise his or her hand. As soon as the students see a hand up, they raise their hand. All hands are to remain raised until the entire room is

Write-Pair··Share activity again. During the second half of the class, several tuclenrs dlorr

o

These e":1mrle~ ,hr"'-W horh ~irle~ of the 3-x-5-inch card that stud~nts made: Their with the new yo(';)ht!:1r;" wnn1. The students' reAect their own pnor experience, which also reNlmli7f's ,he

There are other learning strategies for reading, writing, note taking, and preparing for tests that most professors do not have time. to te~ch students. I like sharing the vocRCrAr;.LD

STUDENTS TECHNIQUES FOR PROMOTING ACADEMIC

A third step we can take

to

prevent cheating is

to

develop fair and

relevant teSts. In classes where exams are part of the grade, we should write new tests every semester. Wankat

(2002)

suggests that we keep an "idea" file

for test questions (p. 84) and after writing a test, solve it (even the essay questions) before nn;:)li7ing it. "By solving the test first, you will find questions that are ;lmhigll o \l

'6

flote. Original version of this checklist came from !vi Z' M"" CC 1\1 d'fi d aureen 1mmerman .La"sa B '"h 0 t e by_and "roared - by S lisan LedJ ow, George Watson,' ur~ us, and VeronIca Patoja from Arizona State University Further

~oddlfibed by Randi Lydum and Kathleen Gabriel from University of Arizona se

y permrSSIOn.

Baton Rouge, LA 7 080 3 The inventory below lists behaviors that you should exhihit in order to excel in analytical chemistry. Write true or false beside each of the fnl1r}"\\-ing Rt:'lt~­ mentS describing the way you will study in this class. The scoring scale is on the reverse side. L

.

2.

I will always read the lecture material before I go to lecture. I will go over my lecture notes as soon as p(\"'1 C N c· enter eu;s. Retrieved from http://learning

Chung, c., & H,stl, L (2006). Encouraging students to seek help: Su "/e-nlcntin rIg office hours WIth a Course center C" 7' h' / . ouege par !l1g, 54(3), 253- 258.

Da\lS, B. (1993). Toolsfor tearhh7,;r. k [vide-Napc Or DVD rC'\0rding]. Produced by

Learning Matters, Inc. Cleveland: Learning Maners, Public Broadcasting Service. Michaelsen, L, Knight, A, & Fink, L D. (2002).

ative use ofsmall pml/" in m!!('gf' +md~i7:g. Sterling, \0'\: Stylus. Mullens, A. (2000). Cheating to 'ivin. 4 (IO), 22-28. I 200 Murphy, B. ( 5). Need to get ;'f'ur ~t frr>m '''Clr.:urr(,'lWnr'. The \Xlasley, P. (2006). Underreprcscmcd ~T!lr1('m~ b("ndlt ~ , : 0 h .11 Chronicle of Higher 53(13), p. A39. Retneved on nlr/l06 at ttp. chronicle.cnm /,Yccldr fV53liI3h 3;1"39"'· h ~m.

KJ:.!:'J:.Kr.NCES

,~:ratson, L., Terrell, M .. ~rright, D., & Associates. u//rgr

(2002).

INDEX

How

fmp/imtinm.fnr r11m1i7fg '717r1 tc1/i,y. Sterling, VA: Stylus.

Weimer, lvL (2002). Lm17ler-rp17trT('d t(,.11hi?g: Fizle key ch,mg(,5 to r-{{rticc. San Francisco: Jossey--Bass.

\'Vooden,]. (with Jamison. S.). (1997)· tf/r>nrit'11" A Hfrthw' of oh crr r'rr rjt)71( awl rr:f1('rtions on and offthe court. ChiclgO: COntemrN:1ry '8""/.;:,, Wyatt, C. (199 2 , July), Skirring class: An analysis of absenteeism among first-year college students. 7rrrr hi71g Sorin/ogy, 20, 20I-20 7. ZlJI, ]. (2002). The art of ch·'7'XhX th., 17m'n: Enri,hing the practice o[ teaching by

r:,")fl, 18; for interaction, 50-5I, 84, 96; for class discussian. 50: learning, 53- 58, 6+. 66, 83, 99 engagement. of students, 5, 7-8, 14, 32. 34, 42. 46, 53-54, 56, 73-74, 76,73,81, 9192,94.97-98, WI. II4-TJ5. I!9, See ~dso class p.
10 7

ice-breaking activity, 28, 4 6 -5 0 iclFnrifyirg 'ir-ri'ik ~rucl('rt'" 28-29

43.81. See

mitmen t , 45, interactions. see groups. interactive lectures !"f1f'thn0h\1nr; f0:-1'116,", assessment

lOI-